About two-thirds of the nation's metro regions saw the number of single-family rentals grow by at least 10 percent in the past seven years.

Written by

Meghan Hoyer
USA Today

As homeownership rates continue to fall, a new type of single-family home buyer has emerged: large corporate investors.

With house values still depressed in many areas, investment funds and real estate trusts have been scooping up thousands of foreclosures across the U.S. in hopes of managing houses the same way large real estate funds hold apartment complexes and office buildings.

That trend has accelerated recently as Fannie Mae announced its first two bulk sales of foreclosed homes to investment companies, selling 94 Chicago properties and 699 in Florida to firms that have pledged to ...